1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand held electronic game with an interactive image display.
2. Background Information
There have been developed and marketed various electronic games which provide interactive three dimensional simulation. For example, there are games which provide a graphic image of a vehicle moving relative to a background image. A game participant may sit in a seat, such as on a motorcycle, that faces a relatively large screen which depicts related images including a graphic image of a motorcycle. The game may further have a handlebar and an accelerator throttle that can be manipulated by the player to vary the position of the graphic motorcycle image. Such games are relatively large and expensive to purchase. For this reason these products are typically limited to use within an arcade or other entertainment center.
There has been marketed a number of hand held electronic games with image display. For example, Tiger Games has marketed products under the trademarks TIGER MINI-BASEBALL and TIGER MINI-STOCK RACING which allows a player to move a dot relative to a graphic image such as a baseball diamond or a race track, respectively. The games may have buttons which allow the player to move the dot.
Radica Games has marketed a hand held electronic game under the name BASS FISHIN'. In general, a player will move the game through the air to simulate the casting of a fishing pole. The game contains a microprocessor, motion sensors, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) which can display data based on the actual casting motion of the game. BASS FISHIN' also contains a reel handle that can be rotated by the player to simulate the sensation of catching a fish. A simulated lake and fish are displayed by the LCD to provide visual assistance to the player, but these images are not altered in direct response to the actions of the player. The graphic image only changes after a "cast," or the rotation of the reel. There is not a continuous variation in the graphic image and movement of the hand held unit.
Mattel Toys has marketed a toy vehicle which has an LCD that displays messages such as "fill gas tank", "change tires". Schaper marketed a toy vehicle which contained a timer and an LCD that displayed the time the vehicle traveled across a playing surface.
None of the hand held electronic games of the prior art provide an interaction between a movement of the game unit and the image displayed by the game. It would be desirable to provide a hand held electronic game that continuously varies a graphic image as the entire game is being moved by a player, wherein the varying graphic image provides a simulated motion of the game.